John Jefferson
Screenshot: Jessica Chandler during a court hearing for allegedly killing her two children (WJHL/YouTube). Inset: Vista and Eli Chandler (Sisk-Butler Funeral Services).
Cops in Tennessee detailed in court this week how a mother murdered her 1-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter by smothering them with a “Lilo & Stitch” blanket.
Jessica Chandler, 29, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the deaths of her children Vista and Eli Chandler. The Johnson City Police Department responded to the home on Oct. 29 after the children’s father found them unresponsive. Officer Gary Price on Tuesday testified he responded to the 911 call and found the father administering CPR to one of the kids in the front yard, according to a courtroom report from local CBS affiliate WJHL.
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Medical personnel arrived to give aid to Vista and Eli while he went into the house. Inside he said he found Chandler in the bathtub with cuts to her arms.
“A pack of razor blades with utility knives, I saw them sitting on the edge of the bathtub,” Price testified.
Paramedics transported Chandler to the hospital but the kids were beyond saving. Detectives began investigating how the two young children died. They were able to quickly gather key clues. Investigator Michael Fowler testified that he recovered three notes taped to some cabinets near the entrance. He said Chandler wrote them admitting to the murders and said she was going to commit suicide. Her reason, in part, was because she felt she could not protect them, Fowler testified.
Since there was no trauma to the children, cops at first opined that Chandler may have poisoned them. But a subsequent interview with Chandler unveiled yet another big piece of the puzzle.
“She pointed out on the property list that she used a ‘Lilo & Stitch’ blanket to first suffocate Vista in her bed,” Fowler testified, adding Chandler admitted to smothering Eli in the same manner. apparently using a blanket featuring characters from the Disney animated movie.
An autopsy confirmed the children died from asphyxiation by smothering.
The judge determined there was enough evidence to present the case to a grand jury, WJHL reported. She remains at the Washington County Jail on a $2 million bond. She’s next due in court on March 31.
Eli had just celebrated his first birthday just over a week before his death. Vista and Eli’s obituary painted a picture of their short, but treasured lives:
Both children were perfect in every way. Vista loved riding her e-bike, swinging, playing in her sandbox, building forts, and playing with playdough. Eli just started walking and was into everything. He loved eating real food, playing with trucks, flopping around on the bed with his sister, and being outside in the yard. They were inseparable. Vista was the best big sister and had the biggest heart and she picked flowers for everybody. Eli was the happiest baby and was always smiling and laughing.
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